Less than two years after the hugely successful tour to India, the OCCC will be embarking upon the sixth major overseas tour, to Zambia and South Africa at the end of this year.
The ensemble (ranging from first-class cricketers to one-year-old girls and all sorts in between) will depart for the steamy Zambian capital, Lusaka, on Boxing Day. We will immediately get stuck into the Zambian national team and, for some light relief, Zambia Under-19s. The party then moves on to Livingstone where we will spend several days in luxury overlooking the Victoria Falls and sampling the safari and adventure sports nearby.
We then fly to Cape Town for eight nights, playing four games at some of the most beautiful grounds in South Africa and taking park in activities such as shark cage diving, wine tasting and a trip up Table Mountain.
But there is a more serious element. For the first time on an OCCC tour we have decided to support a charity. We are supporting Alive and Kicking - Chris Roe (North, 2001) now runs their Zambian operation. The UK registered charity makes leather footballs, netballs and volleyballs, sells them at not-for-profit prices in sub-Saharan Africa, and works to teach youngsters how to avoid AIDS and malaria.
We will play a game in a township and also take the time to offer coaching and to distribute Alive and Kicking balls. We are hoping to raise a significant amount of sponsorship, some of which will go towards our charity work. Sponsors will be able to buy Alive and Kicking balls from us, which we will then distribute on our travels. In return we can offer you advertising space in our tour brochure and, depending on the amount of sponsorship, logos on our tour kit.
If anyone is interested in getting involved with the tour in any way or exploring sponsorship opportunities please contact Ed Henderson on edhenderson88@hotmail.com.
